Colgate has been banned from using a misleading 'much' whiter claim about one of its toothpaste products. Watchdogs banned the internet ad for Colgate Max White One Optic toothpaste following a complaint by rivals Procter & Gamble

The brand said a study conducted on Max White One Optic found a 'statistically significant' immediate whitening benefit of the toothpaste when compared with a placebo.

Four points about claims for the toothpaste on Colgate's own website were investigated, one of which was upheld by the ASA.

The firm also provided results from a consumer research survey, in which 151 people used the product as their normal toothpaste for two weeks and who were then asked questions about the product.

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They highlighted that 67 per cent of those surveyed were satisfied with its whitening ability while 58 per cent agreed that the product made their teeth visibly whiter.

But the ASA found the 'much whiter' claim breached rules regarding misleading advertising as well as substantiation and exaggeration.

An ASA spokesman said: 'We considered consumers would interpret the claims that using the product would result in 'instantly whiter' teeth to mean that their teeth would immediately appear noticeably whiter.

'We further considered that in the context in which it appeared the claim 'much whiter' would also be understood to relate to the product's instant whitening effect.

'However, we considered that consumers would interpret the claim 'much whiter' as a stronger claim than the other claims - that teeth would appear very significantly whiter.

'Notwithstanding that we considered the evidence showed that the instant whitening effect would be noticeable to consumers, because the magnitude of the improvement in whiteness as measured by the indices was small we considered the claim 'much whiter' as it would be interpreted by consumers exaggerated the extent of the instant whitening effect.

'We concluded the claim 'much whiter' was therefore misleading.'

He added: 'The ad must not appear again in the form complained about.

'We told Colgate-Palmolive (UK) Ltd not to make claims which exaggerated the extent of the instant whitening effect of the toothpaste.'

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Colgate banned from using misleading 'much whiter' claim about one of its toothpaste brands